The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-07-31
OLD FRENCH DANCES REVIVED.
Tne psrtstshs Resuseitate Three OF the
stately Nstionsi Dances OF the Fast the
Ms,uet. enc pavans, snd the Gavotte.

TIE psrsssshs Uesuscitnte Three or the
stately Natioaai Dances OF the Fast the
nrsuuet, tie rsvans. snd the Gavotte.
PARIS, JunS 9O.--Not long ago o young
lady OF indisputably plebeian origin, whose
name was Guibert, and whose dowry was i'm
mense. was lived and weddod by noble
gentleman. the Comic dc 10 Ferronnnysi who
lived In the carpet service OF the Comte de
Chambord. and died leaving his widow the
richer by his title. and by q store OF courtly
traditions. which she had eagerly imbibed ut
Frohsdorf. Left to her own resources, Nine.
do Ia Ferronnays proceeded to equip her man
sion In the Cours Ia RENO at Paris with truly
royal splendor, dressing her servants IN livery
copied from models Of the seventeenth CEN
fury. teaching them the formula employed by
tho lackeys Of Louis XIV, and resuscitating In
all the details Of ceremonial and service the
usages and habits Of the old court OF Versailles.
Among other 'usages Of the old court re-
suscitated by Nine. do la Ferronnays'at first
to the great confusion Of her guests. wero the
old French dances, the "pavane." the ga
votto,n and the "minuet." which have in the
course Of the last three years gradually gained
ground, until this winter they have threatened
to Gust the ouadrille and the cotilion in the
salons OF Paris, while they promise to conquer
aristocratic London in the course Of the pros
emit season. Adidu. then, to the English contre-
dance, to the Hungarian and Austrian polkas.
mazurkas, valses, and other foreign lmporta-
lions. Tho Partsians intend to restore to
honor their old ceremonious and ,decorous
national dances. the minuet," the "pavane."
the guvotte." and even the "bourrGe." After
Mme. do 10 Ferronnays. the great poet, Victor
Hugo. had the honor Of attempting to resusci-
tate the old French dances, and his grand
children few years ago danced q "gavotte."
o "pavane." and q "minuet" arranged by M.
Raymond of tho Opera. Nine. do Rute. aided
by the ballet mastar Of the Eden Theatre. nj.
Dalbiani, came next, and this winter NJ and
Mme de Lesseps had their children execute
these old dances dressed In Louis XIV. wedding
garments. In short, these forgotten French
dances have become all the rage. and although
they are not now. their resuscitation has been
80 sudden and 30 difficult that 1t mayb inter-
esting to say few words about them, espe-
cially about the minuet and the pavane.
The difficulties were twofold. First Of all.
the reconstruction OF the costumes, and sec
ondly. that Of the figures. As regards the cos
tunes documents are not wanting. and the
dancers may indulge In more or loss archno-
logical exactitude. as they think proper. The
irapesiisseInent AS for the ladies. in the pic;
tpres and pastels Of the past they Will find
q RT in N Inc "a
e. La sh ana sp Ra.sl shss%as
taye Jscauet's famous picture, L. Msnuet."
AsSsfy: 8 Sssile ysssuss g., t eoasIsss 81
Bouquets, q iiouneed train. rose stuck In the
powdered hair. touch Of rouge on the checks.
face as aas SoaSetry SH viii best Direct For the
payane, an exquisite costume has been RECON-
Pavs e w" Witch may BE- seem IN the Vanderbilt
gallery By those who have tho privilege OF
ssshb6 as RtHE s with em snfsa at
trHXed himself and his family ,,u.. am no
sn the es %s ape anssr Notably
in i72b. The eharacte ristics Of this dance was
q noble and elegant simplicity. 1t was danced
By tive and served %s1 so to
moysment. and IN triple TING; Tho minpet airs
Of EaGudSSt Gft1y and Fischer had great
Mossrt's Don Giovanni, and a very brilliant
and one in the Of m
on tho stage. and imasine most nc skilled dane
Ing masters would be prepared to teach 1t.
IN TIE rst place. must be r. that
a Pinuet can only be danced by two dancers.
81 ssi the
tho time. vi ereas the woman. except when she
gives her hand 70 her partner. has no move
Rodss her skirts as very siisy sprsad out In
ndes. fRls hedins Of The IN te mn"st
nor that tho elbows almost touch the hips. II
Correctly tho cadence Of the dance. on N witch
depends the perfection OF tho minuet step.
RsmesT describes the true mnpss stop Ss
s's SeS *tns sses % r az
loot on tptoe and With the legs stretched out;
at the ond o. this step you let the riSht heel
with . demi.coups 5ohapPS which constitutes
foa see e9eeus hs s'nR
the asp and fan q oil do p Th s
two. dsni .ceupJs. one Of the right and one Of
the snd w etsep s the
whole executed IN the course 81 two bars in
aanes Se oshos se Fss
We may divide Il Into thres oaaai parts The
thirdly. the two steps or pas marches on tiptoe.
as Is required for a single dsmi.coups. And
With the last pas ,rarche, which Is that OF the
that YOU may be ready 70 begin another minuet
modidoations Of the mosements Of the s feet
and legs, this pas de msnuet. or minuet step,
can be executed backyard and sideways. and
these four varieties Of backward, forward, and
mepuet figure. which Is that Of the istter or
Of the letter g. TO begin. the two dancers ad
making a Soqrtesy or rJrirsncs, and tho man
salutina with his hat and hands. a Ia Louis XIV.
provided. OF course, the dancers arc in costume.
Then the. dancer takes the hand OF tho lady
his own hand being below and the lady's
hand above, and alternately, hand in hand,
steps and turns. the couple describe the
figure q and, arrived at tho last step Of the
figure. they salute each other ceremoniously
and begin over again i they think proper, in
figures; for In the minuet, as in all. these old
dances, much Latitude appears 70 have been
Tho traditions OF the pavane have been so
completely forgotten that, In srits of the in
Vulnerable researches mQdo by the Partisan